1. Pain Management
Appropriate strategies and techniques to help manage pain and associated symptoms during the acute, subacute and non-acute stages of an injury. Management is adapted to the individual's presentation and response.
Full Recovery. Then Return to Competition and Sport.
Returning to sport before an injury has sufficiently recovered can increase the risk of re-injury. At Therapy and Rehab, we provide a structured approach to sports injury physiotherapy, combining clinical assessment, individualised treatment and progressive rehabilitation.
Our aim is to help restore the movement, strength, stability, coordination and physical capacity needed for your sporting activities, and to guide your progression towards training and competition.
Book a Specialist Sports Injury Assessment
Common Sports Injuries We Assess and Treat
Sports injuries can affect muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and other soft tissue structures. Problems may occur suddenly during activity or develop gradually through repetitive loading.
Muscle injuries
- Muscle strains, tears and contusions
- Recurrent muscle injuries and restricted movement
Tendon injuries
- Tendinopathy and tendon irritation
- Achilles and patellar tendon problems
- Other tendon strains and partial tears
Ligament injuries
- Sprains and ligament tears
- Ankle and knee ligament injuries, including ACL and MCL injuries
Joint and other soft tissue problems
- Shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle injuries
- Joint swelling (effusion), restricted movement and instability
- Soft tissue bruising and movement restrictions
Overuse and repetitive strain injuries
- Training-related muscle and tendon problems
- Tennis elbow and other repetitive loading conditions
- Symptoms associated with changes in training volume or intensity
Where an injury may involve significant structural damage or requires further investigation, we will advise on appropriate medical assessment, imaging or onward referral. Physical examination does not identify every structural injury on its own.
Comprehensive Sports Injury Assessment
A useful rehabilitation plan starts with understanding the injury, the structures that may be involved and the demands placed on them by your sport.
We assess sports-related problems affecting muscles, tendons, ligaments, other soft tissues and joints. The assessment may include your injury history, symptoms, relevant clinical tests, joint movement, muscle function, stability, movement patterns and functional ability.
Our aim is to identify the likely source of your symptoms and contributing factors, distinguish between relevant injury presentations and decide whether further investigation or referral is needed. This helps guide an appropriate treatment and rehabilitation plan.
Individualised Sports Injury Treatment and Rehabilitation
Treatment is selected according to the nature and stage of the injury, the clinical findings and the physical demands of your sport. It may include the following approaches, where clinically appropriate.
2. Joint and Soft Tissue Treatment
Hands-on treatment and therapeutic interventions may include stretching, joint mobilisation, manipulation where appropriate, and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) techniques. These may be used to address movement restrictions, manage swelling (effusion) and support the restoration of joint movement and stability.
Because injury can affect proprioception — the body's sense of joint position and movement — rehabilitation may include specific work on joint awareness, balance and neuromuscular control.
3. Muscle and Tendon Rehabilitation
Targeted exercise programmes help rebuild muscle and tendon strength, endurance and load tolerance. Where appropriate, soft tissue techniques such as deep tissue massage may be used alongside exercise to address local tissue restriction and impaired soft tissue mobility.
4. Mobility and Flexibility
We address relevant joint stiffness, muscle tightness and movement restrictions through appropriate treatment and exercise, with the aim of improving mobility, range of movement and flexibility.
5. Strength and Conditioning
Progressive strengthening and conditioning rebuild the physical capacity needed for the individual's sport. Exercise is tailored to the injury, current ability and sporting demands.
6. Functional Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation progresses towards the movements and demands of sport. Depending on the activity, this may include balance, coordination, acceleration, deceleration, jumping, landing, agility and changes of direction.
Return to Sport and Competition
Full recovery before returning to competition.
Return to sport is a progressive process, not simply a decision based on whether pain has disappeared. Progression should reflect the injury, clinical findings and the athlete's ability to manage the demands of their sport.
- Restore physical function: review relevant joint movement, muscle strength, flexibility and functional ability.
- Rebuild proprioception and neuromuscular control: work on joint awareness, balance, coordination and controlled movement.
- Introduce sport-specific demands: progressively practise relevant sporting movements and tasks.
- Progress training exposure: increase intensity, duration and complexity in a planned way, according to tolerance and response.
- Review readiness for competition: consider functional performance, physical capacity, confidence and the demands of the sport before progressing to unrestricted participation.
No assessment can guarantee that re-injury will not occur. Return-to-sport decisions should be individualised and based on the injury, clinical findings and relevant functional criteria.
Injury Prevention and Ongoing Physical Preparation
After an injury, continued physical preparation can help maintain rehabilitation progress and address relevant factors that may affect sporting performance.
- Identify individual limitations: consider relevant weakness, reduced flexibility, restricted movement, balance or movement-control difficulties.
- Maintain physical conditioning: continue appropriate strength, endurance and conditioning work for the demands of your sport.
- Build movement capacity: maintain the mobility, coordination and control needed for sporting activity.
- Plan training progression: manage increases in training load and activity in a way that reflects current capacity and recovery.
These measures cannot remove all injury risk, but they can help address modifiable factors and support ongoing physical readiness.